We caught up with Andrew W.K. on a solo tour at a Western Michigan staple, The Derby Station Pub, to hear his thoughts about life. From his Fox News appearances to his Village Voice column to his new show on Glenn Beck's Blaze Radio Network, the guy does a lot of cool stuff, and he s got some interesting things to say.
00:01:06.000Well, thank you for being familiar with that.
00:01:07.000I always found, not just in terms of atmosphere, but especially in terms of service, that there was a standard level of quality that was maintained very consistently at Irish pubs.
00:01:19.000Pubs, bars, you know, themed restaurants all across at least the U.S. Yeah.
00:01:24.000And as someone who, you know, maybe wasn't always the most approachable or didn't look like the kind of person that should be served in an establishment, a respectable place, I was always impressed that they always treated everyone, no matter if they were regular or like some guy who looked like me walking in, you know, never having been there, I was always treated well by the bartenders at those places, so.
00:01:44.000I think that's because in Ireland you're high society.
00:02:30.000He talks about his routine where he goes in, he gets into character, he eats one chocolate chip cookie because that's the right amount of sugar, and then he watches kung fu movies for like 45 minutes.
00:02:42.000I might not have the numbers exactly right.
00:02:43.000and then the room has to be dark for half an hour.
00:03:00.000But no, I've never, I think stretching out.
00:03:03.000I think stretching out, that's my routine, you know, just so you don't pull a hamstring or, you know, dislocate your knee, which I've done before I've broken my foot.
00:04:00.000Well, these shows tonight will be an hour long.
00:04:03.000The longest we've ever done is probably an hour and 45 minutes, two hours.
00:04:07.000Our show, because of that kind of energy level, the style of music, it doesn't lend itself well to going much longer than an hour and a half.
00:04:15.000Because the crowd also, they're going...
00:04:54.000And there's moments, even in any career, where...
00:04:58.000The only way you can really appreciate anything you've done is to be able to have a time to reflect on it, to absorb it.
00:05:03.000I think that's the most important thing.
00:05:05.000When being very busy, It's not so much that you even want to reflect and think, oh, that was really fun when I did this two weeks ago, or last year, it's great to remember back.
00:05:13.000You're going through so much so fast, in life in general, actually, with anyone, whatever their pursuits are, that I feel like you have to actually give your soul time to absorb your own life, to put it into perspective within yourself.
00:05:29.000And it might not even be a very formalized, literal way of thinking about it.
00:05:49.000And do you feel like there's this image, I mean, obviously people take party and you sort of put it out there as more of a generality, as like a positive experience.
00:05:58.000But do you think people maybe have an image of you that's not inherently accurate?
00:06:02.000Like, they picture, you know, like you're a very calm, well-spoken, introspective guy.
00:06:06.000Do you think people expect, like, to party by Andrew W.K. all the time?
00:06:26.000But I usually just respond to whatever the atmosphere is calling for and try to, I don't know, mirror the surroundings in a way that adds to it.
00:06:51.000Because a lot of entertainment now, people our age, relatively our age, a lot of the entertainment, and we'll go to a break soon, though, but is very conversational, like podcasts.
00:07:01.000And I almost feel like it's because our parents, they had their conversations in the house, and then they turned on TV and, gee, willikers, you know?
00:07:08.000But now we're so engaged in our devices...
00:07:11.000That we want our entertainment to feel more real.
00:07:15.000Maybe you're compensating for not having as many conversations throughout the day because of technology, the computer, or even just sort of your lifestyle, and then you want to listen to other people having conversations to make up for that void.
00:07:28.000I mean, this would never play on traditional media, you know, ten years ago.
00:08:32.000I got general blowback from a lot of my friends who thought just doing anything on TV at all was bad.
00:08:37.000That it was evil, corporate, like what you were saying earlier with your ad sponsors.
00:08:41.000That it was playing into this machine that I should avoid.
00:08:46.000But I... Completely disagreed and I actually was expecting that because a lot of these friends of mine that I've grown up with We're very against the grain.
00:08:55.000I mean, really radical in almost off-the-grid type living.
00:09:09.000But didn't really relate to it personally, because I like TV. I like Saturday Night Live, and it was like the greatest thrill in my whole life to be able to go and do stuff like that.
00:09:15.000It was a great performance, too, not to kiss ass, but...
00:09:20.000So then over the years, I just always liked television and I always liked being able to have this thing, that my thing could be able to go on those places, go into these other realms where maybe I don't fit in or maybe you wouldn't expect me to go, and actually have it be okay and make sense.
00:09:36.000And so by the time things like Fox News came around, I was still wondering, and there were a few people that said, oh, they're evil, don't go on there.
00:10:39.000I expect you to leave here and be like, geez, that guy was a jackass.
00:10:42.000At least you have a default mode that you can operate in.
00:10:47.000It makes it easier to realize what you're up against at all times.
00:10:51.000But it seems like there's sort of, whenever you put yourself out there, when you decide to do something that is a public offering, like entertainment, radio, anything, you're asking someone to consider it, to give their time to it, you're going to get this kind of feedback.
00:11:05.000So the question is, it's the comments section of life.
00:11:09.000Do you completely avoid the comments section of life and not look at all Look what everyone's saying.
00:11:14.000Do you look at it and then really get upset by it?
00:11:41.000But it felt very good that I could take really what was sort of mean-spirited criticism and say, like, you know what, they have a point there.
00:11:47.000And that takes away this whole, this fighting.
00:11:50.000It's tough to do that, though, when my YouTube is just littered with people calling me Jewfag.
00:11:54.000Like, I don't know what I can point in front of that.
00:12:34.000Well, that's like, you know, if you're home alone and you're feeling on edge and it's a dark, stormy night, maybe it's not the best choice to watch a horror movie that night.
00:13:24.000It's going to be hard for you, you know, and I'm not saying this to sound like authoritative, but as an artist, as someone who's obviously very creative, same thing as a comedian, you know, you can't be thick-skinned in the sense that what makes you able to create something...
00:14:05.000I guess vilifying of masculinity nowadays.
00:14:07.000And I'm not talking about some false sense of machismo in hunting and fishing, but I think boys are very confused.
00:14:13.000And I think a big part of that, too, is also you have people saying that, you know, men are inherently, you know, your male privilege is showing, and they make them feel guilty.
00:14:19.000But then you have people acting like, well, you're either the jock or you're the book nerd.
00:14:25.000When if you look at people even like Patton, you look at people like Churchill, you look at great men, they all were very, very layered people.
00:14:33.000You know, back then, you were only considered a complete man if you were intelligent, if you were creative, if you were well-spoken, and if you had the physical.
00:14:41.000Whereas now you tell people like, it's one or the other.
00:17:20.000That's how I've gone through life is...
00:17:23.000More and more a sense of there's something pulling me along and I can fight it or I can show up and do it.
00:17:29.000And the more I've shown up and done it, sometimes against my instincts, sometimes against the advice of people I really trust and respect, but gave into a deeper, more subtle I've just followed it and things have worked out.
00:17:47.000I really would like to be able to take things case by case as much as possible in life.
00:17:53.000And while that might not always be possible, we do need to sort of have preset ways of looking at the world in order just to move through it.
00:18:07.000You know, question everything, even including questioning everything.
00:18:10.000So it can get exhausting not resting on a certain point of view.
00:18:15.000But it's been, for me, it's been more, I've learned a lot more than I think I would have if I had just stayed with one point of view and then worked to defend it.
00:18:24.000But you've got to recognize that that's different from a lot of...
00:18:26.000Because every rock star considers themselves open-minded.
00:18:32.000But most of them would never even think of doing a show that has someone labeled as a conservative attached to it.
00:18:37.000So do you think it's maybe they're fooling themselves into thinking they're open-minded?
00:18:41.000Because it seems like you're very sincere.
00:18:43.000That's the one thing I think why no one really hates you is because it's contagious, your authenticity.
00:18:52.000I'm trying to have an adventure in life, and I feel as an entertainer, because that's what I do, if I'm not entertained by my own life, how would I be able to entertain other people?
00:19:39.000A force, maybe your own internal instincts again.
00:19:44.000But I've noticed when I feel like I'm being useful, that I'm adding something rather than just taking away Or taking to make my life better.
00:19:53.000When I feel like someone else can relate to something that I've offered and it's made them feel good or it's allowed them to tap into the part of themselves that already did feel good and they didn't realize it.
00:20:05.000Anything that sort of did make me feel like I was making, I was contributing.
00:20:10.000Because there was things I wanted to do because I liked it or I wanted to make money because of this so I could buy this or live in a certain way.
00:20:16.000There was always a slight flatness, like striving for the achievement was satisfying.
00:20:23.000But the kind of end result, when there wasn't another person involved, it wasn't as rewarding.
00:20:28.000So I started thinking that maybe I could try to Not just cheer myself up, but cheer other people up.
00:21:24.000Because there's no, there really is no, unless you're like, gosh, I'm trying to think, like a character, like a Pee Wee Herman or something, you know, you're doing a character, it's just you, and that really is reflected in comedy.
00:21:36.000Do you feel like that's the same thing with your music, where if you're in a state where not only are you not entertaining yourself, but you don't feel like you're really pursuing or fulfilling what you're meant to do, that it can pick up on?
00:21:49.000It could be cathartic for other people to see someone going through that in a...
00:21:54.000In a dramatic way, but ultimately you want to see people that are feeling inspired.
00:21:59.000I do my best work when I'm excited about life, when I feel like I'm Maybe not figuring things out, but at least going towards some kind of purpose or meaning.
00:22:09.000I mean, there's times when I've thought that everything was meaningless.
00:22:11.000I went through all kinds of complete ambivalence and sort of tore away everything about life and then built it back up again.
00:22:19.000And now I'm in a building back up again phase, which I hope never stops.
00:22:25.000You know, you can die when you do things like that.
00:22:27.000But if you feel like you have to, then sometimes you're like, crap, I've got to do this again.
00:22:31.000You go through ordeals in life and you hope that you come out of them stronger.
00:22:35.000And at the time, it can seem like, how could this ever be valuable?
00:22:40.000But those dark moments, I feel like especially, and I'm not sure what your childhood was like, I had a very, very privileged upbringing.
00:22:48.000You know, just a good family, endless support, great surroundings with friends and mentors everywhere.
00:22:55.000And things were so good, I think that I almost had to create bad experiences so I could have a fuller version of life.
00:23:03.000I mean, your parents, of course, they want you to have this perfect existence, but you don't get to know yourself or even the world unless, for better or worse, you go through some bad stuff.
00:23:14.000And even if you have to make it happen on your own.
00:23:17.000At the end of the day, you have to look yourself in the mirror and say, I mean, have I done everything that I could do?
00:23:23.000Did I do everything that was in my power to make sure that I'm prepared for whatever it is, you know, whether it's a show or whether it's, you know, the next stage of life?
00:23:31.000And that's a scary moment, I feel like, because if you can say yes, you go to work and you're willing to accept the result.
00:23:37.000For me, I don't know about you, like, as far as a tearing down phase, This is kind of the question for me, and it has nothing to do with politics.
00:23:45.000I know people on the AM dial might be shutting this off, but you never know.
00:23:52.000What are the harder failures to handle for you?
00:23:56.000The ones where you've made a mistake and you're going like, oh, I know I made a mistake, or the ones where you feel like you did everything right, everything you could, and it just still didn't work?
00:24:11.000Well, hopefully both of those types of experiences could again provide insight, education, self-knowledge, and some type of strengthening in the end.
00:24:23.000But I feel like the first one is more painful because all you'd ever want is to feel like you gave everything you had to this chance to be alive.
00:24:36.000Whatever happens, you have to then just take in stride as that it was meant to happen.
00:24:40.000If you truly felt like you hesitated, didn't trust that instinct, didn't follow this purpose or this call, and basically wasted your life, that to me would be much harder.
00:24:52.000Even if it was just a day of your life or 10 years or the whole thing.
00:24:56.000I thought you were going to go with the Oprah answer, where I hope I would learn either way, and then you gave an actual definitive answer.
00:25:02.000No, it was good, but it was good though.
00:25:04.000You know, yeah, I would say for me, it's one of those things where, yeah, the mistakes are like, you know, those are what keep me up at night.
00:25:11.000When I'm facing it, though, and it's like I've done everything because, you know, I didn't really...
00:25:15.000I wouldn't say I have a privileged childhood.
00:25:17.000I'm very privileged that I have a great family.
00:25:18.000You know, I grew up in a socialist province where they thought I was basically learning disabled because I had to go to French schools and it wasn't my first language and it was the language laws.
00:25:27.000I mean, just discriminatory language laws.
00:25:32.000But I am very, very grateful and I have the best father and mother and brother you could ask for.
00:25:36.000But for me, where it was, you know, if I was like...
00:25:40.000I've studied for this test, I've done it, or same thing now, I'm prepared for this show, and I've done everything I can, and then it still doesn't work.
00:25:49.000But I feel like it's something where I know I can move past it because I go, well, I just have to correct it and move forward.
00:25:54.000Whereas even though you're looking back, something where you made an error, those are things where if I'm alone at night and I'm not sleeping, I'm like, oh, you know, and I just wince.
00:26:02.000And there's still things, there's things that I don't allow myself to think about going back 10 years, 15, 20 years ago because I've closed that chapter.
00:26:12.000I said, there's nothing I can do to fix that.
00:26:43.000What's really hard is running a search and seeing someone take a clip from a show where I said something because I was asked something by a host.
00:26:51.000And even though I said what I meant, it's cut in a way or out of context where people could misconstrue it.
00:27:18.000I mean, I've gotten just more and more excited about this idea of trying to truly become, like, the best person.
00:27:27.000And it's the hardest thing in the world.
00:27:29.000It's harder than anything else that I ever wanted to try to achieve, like putting out an album or getting on TV or making money or being successful, making my dreams come true.
00:27:56.000And those were much like, ah, that's going to really actually take real work.
00:28:00.000Like all the work, striving, recording, hours, staying up for three days working, doesn't even come close to 1% of how hard it is to try to face yourself inside out and say maybe that's what real life actually is.
00:28:15.000And all the other stuff is to facilitate that pursuit somehow.
00:28:21.000I would say then it kind of comes in a roundabout way because, I mean, you sold out, we're here in Grand Rapids, you sold out the pyramid scheme.
00:30:46.000So I think Billy Joel is one, I know, but Billy Joel, I have this opinion that if you're, for example, in this pub, and a Billy Joel song comes on, you're immediately going to, oh wait, there's something going that makes me want to tap my foot.
00:30:59.000I've seen him live, and I agree, he played, you know, all the songs everybody wanted to hear, and then even deep ones that weren't his choice, maybe, you know.
00:31:07.000And I've had experiences where I've done shows, Where I did what I felt like doing, and people were disappointed, and I didn't feel good.
00:31:13.000And I didn't want to push against that.
00:31:16.000I mean, I learned from experience, too, where I have use, where I'm valuable, where I can offer something that actually is appreciated.
00:31:24.000I can play that stuff at home, I can do that at other shows, make it clear that this show I'm not going to be playing my songs, and I've done that, but I would never abandon...